Maoris object to restrictions

Press, 16 September 1976, Page 2

Maoris object to restrictions

PA Wellington • Three of the Labour Party's four Maori members of Parliament said yesterday that they had serious misgivings about the Government’s statement that there would tie no change in the numler of Maori electorates. 'The three were Mrs T. W.' M Tinkatene-Sullivan (Southern Maori), Mr K. T. Wetere (Western .Maori), and' Mr P. B Rewetj (Eastern Maori). The other Maori M.P.,1 Mr M. Rata (Northern Maori) is at present on a Parliamentary trip around the Pacific Islands. In a statement, the MP.si said they were not entirely' surprised by the announcement — because the Nat- ( tonal Party had indicated its views m its 1975 Election manifesto — but said that those views had been formed without discussion with the Maori people. “Last year, the Labour Party started a democratic wav of consulting the Maori people as to what they wanted to happen to the four Maori seats,” thev said. "Each Maori voter was asked to say on Census night whether he or she wanted to

remain on the Maori roll, or Ito be listed on the common j roll. This left the future of the seats in the hands of the Maori people, and those who (opted for the Maori roll would have determined the number of Maori seats.” The M P s said that the real problem at present was the huge discrepancy between the Maori electorates and the others — the Maori electorates have nearly twice the number of people as ordinary electorates. Not only did these electorates contain more people, but they were much larger in physical size, and the Maori population was widely distributed. Maori M.P.s had a much bigger job keeping in touch with their constituents. If the Maori roll remained high, but the number of seats .remained at four, then special provision would have to be made to ensure equal representation, they said. Some equitv would be returned if the Government provided a “communications secretary" for each Maori M.P., easing the special problems of communication in the Maori electorates Others. have alreadv spoken out against the proposal, including Mr Wetere. in a separate statement to the "Waikato Times.”

He said that racial harmony :would be endangered as opposition mounted against the Government plans to rescrict 'the Maori seats to four. The New Zealand Maori Council has sent a protest telegram to the Minister of .Maori Affairs (Mr Maclntyre) 1 and the moves — announced jby the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) on Monday — have been attacked as racist and 'undemocratic by the leader jof the Matakite movement |(Dr Douglas Sinclair).

Mr Wetere said there: were already signs of dis-: i unity and the legislation l would drive another wedge l between the races. The Maori people would no longer tolerate a situation in which they were grossly! I under-represented in the House.

"There has been no consultation with the Maori people about this — we are being ignored.” The proposed legislation had “racial overtones.” he said. “1 believe the Government knows from the Census what the Maori population is, and how many extra seats it would justify — this is the only conclusion I can draw from their decision to hurry this legislatio in.” Mr Muldoon said the legislation, to be passed this year, would restrict the number of Maori seats to four, despite any increase in the Maori population.

He said it was National Party policy to allow only four seats, and the legislation would be introduced before the Census statistics were released. The Labour Government’s Electoral Amendment Act (would allow the number of I Maori seats to increase or I decrease according to the (Maori population in the (Census, and the number of Maoris opting for the Maori electoral rolls.

Mr Wetere said that even on the 1971 Census figures his electorate, Western Maori, had 70.000 Maoris, the average general electorate contained only about 33,000 people.

The Maori people were I grossly under-represented jand were demanding equality of representation, parI ticularly now that Maori problems had become more complex with the urban , drift.